Never Say Die
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel displayed their never-say-die spirit at the best of times, completing a comeback to snatch an 85-81 victory against twice-to-beat edge owners Alaska Aces in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup Quarterfinals, Sunday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
By spoiling the Aces’ twice-to-beat advantage, the Barangay and Alaska will play its do-or-die game on Tuesday, February 7, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Tough game to play, tough game to officiate, it was tough out there,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone. “All we’ve done is just tie the series. It’s all tied up now, that’s what we had to do.”
Five players anchored the Barangay’s offense, with LA Tenorio leading the pack with 16 points despite shooting 4-of-15 and six assists. Japeth Aguilar made 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Scottie Thompson also had 15 and 10 boards.
Combo guard Sol Mercado produced 12 points on a dismal 5-of-13 clip and also dished out six dimes. Forward Joe Devance, who left the game in the 7:31 mark of the third period after hurting his right foot, still finished with 10 markers.
The Barangay’s comeback kickstarted midway into the third canto, outscoring Alaska 27-1 from a wide 53-35 lag behind the trio of Mercado, Thompson, and Tenorio to end the frame with an eight-point lead, 62-54.
“We were lucky they did’t blow us out in the first half. We kept the game to just 12 points because of our defense. We found some rhythm in the 2nd half, and our defense picked up,” added Cone on the win.
However, the Aces surged back in the final frame, rising back from a 74-66 deficit through a 13-6 outscoring capped by a JVee Casio trey to give the Barangay a scare, 80-79, with 2:20 to go. However, things started to veer away from them.
With Kevin Ferrer sinking a teardrop, Mercado swishing a tough lay-up, and Tenorio splitting his shots from the foul line, the Barangay scored their final five points of the match, enough to seal the win and successfully complete the hijack.
“It was an intense game for everybody. It was a struggle for us in the first half. We were missing layups, making silly turnovers,” Cone reflected.
Only two players scored in double figures for the Alaska side. Calvin Abueva put up 20 points by hitting 7-of-19 from the field and 10 caroms. Casio backed him up with 16 on a 50 percent clip, shooting five of his 10 shots.
The Barangay converted 30 of their 71 tries from the floor en route to a 42 percent clip. They also outworked the Aces in rebounds, 52-42, and in assists, 19-15. They also hit 24 second chance points and 22 points off Alaska’s 17 turnovers.
The Scores:
Ginebra (85) – Tenorio 16, Thompson 15, Aguilar 15, Mercado 12, Devance 10, Marcelo 6, Helterbrand 5, Ferrer 2, Cruz 2, Caguioa 2, Ellis 0, Taha 0.
Alaska (81) – Abueva 20, Casio 16, Thoss 9, Cruz 9, Manuel 9, Pascual 6, Hontiveros 6, Exciminiano 3, Racal 3, Magat 0, Mendoza 0, Galliguez 0, Jazul 0.
Quarterscores: 13-23, 29-41, 62-54, 85-81.
